Building block



Jan.4 29, 1952 K. E. wElss 2583.912

BUILDING BLOCK Filed Sept. 20, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l 80 g sa G7 aawy K. E. WEISS BUILDING BLOCK Jan. 29, 1952 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 Filed Sept. 20, 1949 A H/ Tu .0. H

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by a4 mi @www Patented Jan. 29, 1952 UNTTED STATES .PATENT orner:

BUILDING BLOCK Karl E. Weiss, Arligton, Mass.

Application September 20, 1949, Serial No'. 116,742

This invention relates broadly to building materials and more particularly to the provision o1" building units from which may be constructed a wall that is suiciently impervious to X-rays. While reference in the specification will be made to units capable of protecting against X-rays, it will be understood that the term X-ray also includes and is indicative of all other types of radiations which are considered harmful to humans and which may be suitably shielded by the use of a sheet of lead or other material having shielding properties.

It is customary and necessary to protect per-- sons working with X-ray machinery from the harmful effects of such rays. Protection, heretofore, has generally been provided in the form of walls, ceilings, and oors in or on which have been placed sheets of lead. These protective lead sheets have been in the form of large continuous sheets or a plurality of small overlapping sheets. Various means have been used to support the small sheets. One form that has found favor in the trade is the construction in which the small individual sheets have been supported by cement or cinder blocks initially molded in position on both sides of the sheet and secured thereto by specially applied straps or lugs which extend laterally from the sheets to be anchored in the block material. v

These blocks supporting the sheet of lead have then been assembled in the manner of bricks to form a wall, ceiling, or iioor so that the edges of the lead sheets which extend from all sides of the blocks, overlap each other thereby providing a continuous lead surface capable of effectively blocking the passage of X-rays.

The units of the prior art, however, do not lend themselves to mass production in which the blocks are made independently and then attached to the sheets. On the contrary, each unit is made individually, by pouring the block ma terial into molds on either side of the sheet. The -attachment of the blocks to the sheet is effected .by the use of lugs or straps that have previously been individually aiiixed to both sides of the sheet and which become embedded in the poured mix that later hardens into the blocks.

Y YA further disadvantage of the present units is that the lead sheet extends from the block around all four sides. As the sheet is soft and iiexible, it is very difficult to handle the block` inthe normal manner without bending the edge of the sheet, .and it will occasionally happen that the sheet will be so bent in handling or assem- .biy that it will not .overlap the next adjacent 7 Claims. (Cl. Z50-108) w sheet, thus providing 2 an opening through which X-rays may pass. Hence, a, dangerous condition could exist with no way of finding the Idam aging opening. Furthermore, if an adequate overlap is provided the edges of the blocks -noW commonly used must be groved quite deeply adjacent the lead sheet or an excessive amount of mortar must be used to hold the blocks in the roper spaced position.

The present invention provides a new and inexpensive method of manufacturing shielding units each of which consists of two blocks .and a lead sheet so arranged that the lead sheet is supported over its entire area with the exception of two small corner areas. Thus, the chance of the sheet being bent is greatly minimized. The unit construction also provides for the assembly of the units in the same manner that ordinary bricks or blocks might be assembled to form a wall. 'The blocks may be used with or Without mortar, and the lead sheets will overlap each other on all four sides so that no chink or crevice can occur, thus insuring that the wall or other surface will be complete protection against the passage of X-rays.

When reference is made to the blocks which are used to support the lead sheets, it will be understood that the blocks may be made of any of the com-mon vcementitious materials vordinarily i-n use in the building trades. Such blocks may be made of cement, cinders, concrete, or any other material which may serve the purpose. The blocks might even be of wood or plaster. Similarly, while a lead sheet will be the usual shielding material, it. will be understood that the use of other sheet material having similar properties is within the scope ofithe invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the unit.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation looking toward the right of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view looking upward toward the bottom of Fig. 1.

4 shows a side elevation of a group of units assembled to form a wall.

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan View on the line 5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation on the line 6-8 of Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is a' sectional elevation on the line 1 1 of Fig. 4. l

Fig. 8 is an alternative arrangement show 3 in sectional elevation also taken on the line 'l-'I of Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail of one of the joints shown in Fig. 7. v

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail of one of the joints shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 shows a modified form of wall assemble in which the units are staggered vertically.

Fig. 12 is a vertical section on the line I2-I2 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 shows a modified form in which two edges of one of the blocks are beveledso as to permit limited deflection of two edges of the supported sheet.

Fig. 14 is a view looking upward toward the bottom of Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a side elevation looking from the right of Fig. 13.

Fig. 16 shows a plurality of the blocks shown in Figs. 13, 14, and 15 assembled to form a portion of a wall.

Fig. 1'7 is a sectional plan View on the line I1-I1 of Fig. 16,.

Fig. 18 is a vertical section on the line I8-I8 of Fig. 16.

'Fig'. 19 is a vertical section on the line I9-I9 of Fig. 16.

Fig. 20 is an enlarged view of the lower of the two joints shown in Fig. 19.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, it will be seen that each unit comprises two blocks positioned on opposite sides of a sheet of lead. When reference hereinafter is made to blocks, it will be understood that the term includes all types of cementitious blocks, and it may also include blocks of other materials, such as wood or plaster, for example, so long as the blocks are capable of being adhesively secured to the lead sheet and supporting it with proper rigidity.

Each unit comprises a block 2, a lead sheet 4, and another block 6 on the other side of the lead sheet. Block 2 has its sides indicated at 8, I0, I2, and I4 while block 6 has its sides indicated at I5, I8, 2D, and 22. The dimensions ofthe lead sheet 4 are such that its upper edge at 24 is aligned with the upper edge 8 of block 2 while the lower edge 26 is aligned with lower edge 20 of block 6. Similarly, the end edges of the lead sheet are aligned with the edge I4 of block 2 and the edge I8 of block 6. When it is Vsaid that the edges of the lead sheet are aligned with the edges of the blocks, it will be appreciated that exact alignment is unnecessary. The sheet might even terminate slightly short of the edges of the blocks provided all portions of the lead sheet extend a suicient distance toward the outermost edges of the blocks tov insure adequate overlapping of the lead sheets as will be explained hereinafter.

While reference is made to the use of a lead sheet as being the preferred form of material capable of blocking the passage of X-rays and other harmful radiations, nevertheless, it lwill be understood that the lead sheet is merely representative of any type of material that might accomplish the same result. For example, an alloy of tungsten and copper which is 50% heavier than lead might be used.

The two blocks 2 and 6 are adhesively secured to opposite sides of the sheet 4. The blocks are staggered and offset diagonally one from the other so that the lead sheet is supported on both sides over a common area which is bounded by the edges I and I2 of block 2 and bythe edges I6 and 22 of block 6.

The sheet 4 is supported along its lower and left edge on one side only by the block 6 and supported on its top and right edge areas on one side only by the block 2. The two corner areas of sheet 4, numbered 28 and 3D, are unsupported on either side. These corner areas are the only parts of the sheet which are not in engagement with one or both of the blocks. This arrangement obviously produces a unit which may be handled in normal building opera` tions with little likelihood of damage to the lead sheet.

In a preferred form of unit which I have constructed, the blocks are so-called cinder blocks with dimensions of 18 x 8" x 2 offset approximately 11/2 in both directions from each other and supporting a lead sheet approximately 19% x 91/2 x 1/8". The blocks when assembled to form a partition or wall may rest directly one on the other with the exposed edges of the sheet overlapping, or they may be separated somewhat through the use of a normal quantity of mortar. In either arrangement, there will be adequate overlap of the lead sheets to insure against the presence of inadvertent or accidental openings.

Referring toFig. 4, it will be seen that a parti tion wall may be readily formed using the units heretofore described. A small section of such a wall consisting of 6 units, numbered 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, and 42, is shown. The corresponding lead sheets of these units are indicated at 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, and 54. If we consider the sectional view shown in Fig. 6, it will be seen that the lower edge of sheet 50 overlaps the upper edge of sheet 52, and the lower edge of sheet 52 overlaps the upper edge of sheet 54. Similarly, as shown in Fig. 5, the right hand edge of sheet 44 will overlap the left hand edge of sheet 5E). These overlapping conditions of the sheets will prevail at all edges throughout a partition built in this manner and using my units.

Where the corners of the blocks come together. the arrangement is such that the four adjacent corners of the four lead sheets overlap. Referring to Fig. 4 and to Fig. 7 and the enlarged section shown in Fig. 9 both of which are taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 4, it will be seen that sheet 5|! is supported on the rear by block 56 and on the front by block 5B while sheet 44 is supported on the front by block 60 and on the rear by block 62. Likewise sheet 52 is supported on the back by block 64 and on the front by block 66. Sheet 46 is supported on the front by block S8 and on the rear by block 10.

Thus, as viewed in Fig. 4, the lower left corner of sheet 50, the lower right corner of sheet 44, and the upper right corner of sheet 46, and the upper left corner of sheet 52, all overlap at a. common area which is indicated at 'I2 in Fig. 4. There will, of course, be a common overlapping area at each corner when the partition is built in this manner. At this overlapping corner area 72', the corner of sheet 50 will be supported by block 56 while the corner of sheet 46 will be supported by block 68. The other overlapping corner areas of sheets 44 and 52 will be unsupported by the blocks that are secured to these sheets respectively but those unsupported corner areas as shown plainly in Figs. 7 and 9 will be positioned between the two supported corner areas of sheets 46 and 50.

Since the thickness of the lead sheet is relatively small compared to the thickness of the blocks, it will be seen that the offset of one block to that above or below it will be slight.

. The. disclosures. in 5 to 10; are somewhat exaggerated in order to illustrate the. construe.- tion. In practice, a. wall usingmyA units; will appearl substantially :dat on theV outside.and the small offsets between the blocks will be oi' a negligible character.

If the wall is assembled; without the use of mortar, it will be understood that each block will restl directly on, the block' below, and' the ends of they blocks on the same row will abut each other. If', however, mortar is used, as indicated at |35 in the figures, the blocks` will be spaced in; the manner indicated.' in Figs. 4 to 11. In eithercase, the change in the amountof overlap of; the edge.V and corner areas of the lead sheet will be limitedand having no effect on the shielding properties of the, wall.

It will be understood, of course, that when referenceis made to a wall it is intended to indicate any shielding surface whether it b e av wall. floorL ceiling,v or otherwise. Furthermore, adjacent blocks maybe arranged atv a slight angle tok eachy other so that a curved wall may be produced with equal ease. Again,` in suchv cases, all of the lead sheets, will` continuously overlap so. that. therecan be no. openings.

Figs. 8 and 1li-show a slightmodication from that shown in Figs. 'I and; 9. This modification isbrought about ordinarily by the order in which the blocks are assembled. In this arrangement, the. unsupportedk corner area of sheet 52 is positioned directly againstthesupportedy corner area of sheet 46 while the unsupported corner area of sheet 4,4 is against theV supported corner area of sheet 50. This differs. from the construction oflig. Qin which the corner areas are alternated, but the net. result, both in the effectiveness of the` shielding and the outer appearance of the wall, is thev same.

In many cases.. it may be preferred to4 build the wall inthe manner shown in` Fig. ll in which the units are staggered vertically in the same manner that the, bricks in an ordinary wall are. staggered vertically whilebeing aligned horizontally. It will be understood that the units illustratedA in Fig. l1 may be multiplied horizontally and vertically to form a completev wall, and itis, therefore... unnecessary to illustrate any more than is shown. Here the visible blocks are numbered 14, 16, and 18, supporting, respectively sheets 8|), 82, andv 84. These sheets in the preferred form are, of course, supported on their rear sides by additional blocks staggered in the manner heretofore explained. On the other hand, it will be understoodA that even if the rear blocks were omitted, a wall could still be assembled as the face blocks would be capable of holding the overlapping lead sheets in proper position. A wall using blocks on one face of the sheets only would present a normal appearance on the block side, but, on the rear side, would show the overlapping lead sheets.

In Fig. 11, the upper edges of sheets 80 and 82 will be overlapped by the lower edge of sheet 84 and by the lower edges of the sheets of the next adjacent blocks 85 and 8T in theY same row as block 1S. The upper right hand corner of sheet lll which is supported by block 14 will be overlapped by the upper left hand unsupported corner of sheet B2. These two overlapping corners will, ofcourse, be overlapped by the lower edge ofv sheet 8d.. which. will turn be supported by the block; on the rear side of the sheet. However, if the rear blocks. are, not used,A then the lower edge of sheet 84 will be unsupported, but

whether or, not it. is supported on the rear will have no elect on its overlapping capabilities.

While reference has already beenmade to the fact thatthe blocks as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 when assembled into, a wall formation willv be slightly olset with respect tol each other dueto the thicknessof the overlapping lead sheets, such offset condition, if, considered objectionable, can be avoided through the use of the modified form of block shown in Figs. 13-20v inclusive In7 this modied construction, two edges of one of the supporting blocks in each unit are beveled so that the lead sheet adjacent these beveled edges may be bent slightly to oneV side. In this manner, the bent portion will be sufciently out of the way so that the major plane portion of the lead sheet in each block may be aligned with the major plane portion of the sheet in each adjacent block. By this arrangement, a wall may be constructed of a plurality of these units in which the faces of the blocks on b oth sides will lie in the same plane, but the overy lapping characteristics of the. lead sheets about all fourI edges will be unimpaired. A more detailed explanation of this construction follows.

' Referring to Fig. 13, the unit |50 comprises two blocks |02 and |04 separated by a lead sheet |06.` The outer edges of block |62 are indicated at IBB, H0, |I2, and ||4 while the outer edges of block |84 are indicated at IIB, II8, |20, and |22. As viewedin Fig. 13, the unit presents the same appearance as the unit shown in Fig. 1.

. However, as can be seen from Figs. 14 and 15,

block |32 is beveled along its rear right hand vertical edge as shown at |24 and along; its top rear horizontal edge as shown at |26. The lead sheetY |05 is correspondingly deformed to rest againstV these beveled edges as indicated at |28 and 53B; Some slight deformation ofY sheet |06 occurs at the unsupported corner areas |32 and |34as the deformed edge blends into the adjacent flat portion of the sheet.

When a plurality of blocks of the construction shown in Figs, 13, 14and 15 are assembledv into a wall as indicated in Fig. 16, the result is that the main plane portions of each sheet in each block will be aligned with the main plane portions of the sheets in the adjacent blocks. This construction is shown plainly in Figs. 17, 18, 19 andzo.

In Fig. 16, the several units are numbered |36, |38, |46, |42, |44-, |46, andv |48, and the lead sheets supported by each of these units are numbered L50 |52, |54, |55, |58, |63, and |62, As shown in Fig. 18, the upper horizontal edge of unit |35 is beveled so that sheet Hilll can be bent laterally as at H54. In similar fashion, sheet |54 is deiected as at |66, and sheet |60 is deflected as at liil. The result of this construction is that the major plane portion of sheet |50 may be brought into alignment with the-major planeV area ofsheet 54 and-sheet' |54 is in turn aligned with sheet |56. correspondingly, the outerfsurfaces of the blocksof the units lie inthe same plane, and there is no offset at the joints-between the blocks.

In the same manner due to the bevelledvertical edge of one. block in each unit, the, blocks when assembled permit the alignment of the sheets in the horizontal rows as shown in. Fig. 17, the same as the vertical alignment of the sheets shown invFigs. 1 3 and 19. l

Fig. 19v illustrates thel manner in which-the sheets overlap at the corners and whichv gives substantially-the same effect as that shown in Fig. 1l.

Through the use rof this modified form, the same imperviousness to the transmission of X-rays is obtained as there is continuous overlapping of all edges of each lead sheet. The fact that overlapping edges of adjacent sheets are not parallel and hence do not lie iiush against each other is immaterial, for sufficient Vertical and horizontal overlapping is always present, Through the use of a proper amount of mortar, each block may be brought into correct related position with the next adjacent block so that all block sides will be flush with each other, and all sheets will be in substantially the same plane with the exception of the bent areas that lie against the beveled portions of the blocks.

It will, of course, be understood that both blocks could be beveled in identical fashion along the non-overlapped edge areas with all four edges of each sheet correspondingly bent. This would enable the blocks to be brought a little closer together when assembled as a wall.

While the invention has been disclosed by the illustration and description of a preferred form, it is to be understood that the dimensions of the blocks and lead sheet may be varied as seems appropriate or necessary to meet the requirements of any particular situation and such modifications as might normally be made in view of the present disclosure are to be considered as within the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

l. A Wall for preventing the passage of X-rays therethrough, comprising a plurality of substantially identical rectangular lead sheets, said sheets being generally in the same plane and arranged in horizontal rows with their vertical edges overlapping and with their horizontal edges overlapping and with each corner being overlapped by portions of at least two other adjacent sheets, a plurality of cementitious blocks, at least one block adhesively secured to each sheet, the engaging surface area of each said block being smaller than the area of said sheet, said blocks being secured to said sheets in uniform positions on the sarne side of said sheets in which positions each said block will support all of each sheet except the border area along two adjacent sides and the three corners included in said border area, each supported corner area being overlapped by at least one unsupported corner area of the next sheet in the same horizontal row and a supported area of a third sheet in the next adjacent horizontal row.

2. A wall for preventing the passage of X-rays therethrough, comprising a plurality of substantially identical rectangular lead sheets, said sheets generally in the same plane and arranged in horizontal and vertical rows with their vertical edges overlapping and with their horizontal edges overlapping and with each corner being overlapped by the corners of three other adjacent sheets, a plurality of cementitious blocks, at least one block adhesively secured to each sheet, the engaging surface area of each said block being smaller than the area of said sheet, said blocks being secured to said sheets in uniform positions on the same side of said sheets in which positions each said block will support all of each sheet except the border area along two adjacent sides and the three corners included in said border area, only the outside corner area of said four overlapping 'corner areas being supported by a block on that side of said sheets.

3. A wall for preventing the passage of X-rays therethrough, comprising a plurality of substantially identical generally rectangular sheets, said sheets being arranged in horizontal rows with their Vertical' edges over-lapping and with each corner area of each sheet being overlapped by the adjacent corner area of the next sheet in the same row, a plurality of cementitious blocks of substantially the same length and breadth and with the largest face thereof smaller than the area of said sheet, one block adhesively secured to each side of each sheet in symmetrical diagonally disposed positions with adjacent edges of the block on one side of said sheet aligned with two adjacent edges of said sheet and the corresponding opposite adjacent edges of the other block on the other side of said Ysheet aligned with the other two adjacent edges of said sheet, whereby the major area of each said sheet will be supported on both sides, the edge areas `will be supported on one side, two of the diagonally opposite corner areas will be sup-ported on one side and the other two of the corner areas will be unsupported, one of'every pair of overlapping corner areas of the adjacent sheets in each row being supported by a blockr on one side only, the other of said pair of overlapping corner areas extending beyond and being unsupported by the blocks that are secured to the sheet of which said unsupported corner area is a part.

4. A wall for preventing the passage of X-rays therethrough, comprising a plurality of substantially identical generally rectangular sheets, said sheets being arranged in horizontal and Vertical rows with their vertical edges overlapping and with each corner area being overlapped by the corner areas of three other adjacent sheets, a plurality of substantially identical cementitious blocks with the largest face thereof smaller than the area of said sheet, one block adhesively secured to each side of each sheet in symmetrical diagonally disposed positions with two adjacent edges of the block on one side of said sheet aligned with two adjacent edges of said sheet and the corresponding opposite adjacent edges of the other block on the other side of said sheet aligned with the other two adjacent edges of said sheet, whereby the major area of each said sheet will be supported on both sides, the edge areas will be supported on one side, two of the diagonally opposite corner areas will be supported on one side and the other two of the corner areas will be unsupported, each of the said overlapping vertical and horizontal edges of each block being adhesively secured to a block on one side only, two of the four overlapping corner areas being adhesively secured to a block on one side only, the two unsupported corner areas being positioned between said two supported corner areas.

5. As an article of manufacture, a rectangular sheet of lead and two cementitious blocks of generally rectangular parallelopiped form and oi substantially the same length and breadth adhesively secured to the opposite faces of said sheet in overlapping staggered positions, the secured faces of said blocks being of less area than the area of said sheet, two adjacent edge areas of at least one of said blocks being beveled with the corresponding edge areas of said sheet lying thereagainst.

6. As an article of manufacture, a rectangular sheet of lead and two cementitious blocks. of generally rectangular parallelopiped form and of substantially the same length and breadth adhesively secured to the opposite faces of said sheet in symmetrical overlapping staggered positions with each block presenting non-overlapping edge areas, two adjacent edges of one block being aligned with two adjacent edges of said sheet and two adjacent edges of the other block 5 being aligned with the other two adjacent edges t of said sheet, whereby said sheet will be supported over its entire area with the exception of two diagonally opposite corner areas, at least two of the non-overlapped edge areas of one 10 block being beveled whereby the corresponding edge areas of said sheet may be bent in the di-` rection of said beveled areas out of the generalplane of said sheet.

7. As an article of manufacture, a rectangular 15 sheet of lead and two cementitious blocks `of generally rectangular parallelopiped form andof substantially the same length and breadth `and adhesively secured to the opposite faces of said sheet in symmetrical overlapping staggered p04' 20 said faces, two adjacent edges of one block being beveled and aligned with two adjacent edges of said sheet with said sheet correspondingly deformed to be against said beveled edges and two adjacent edges of the other block being aligned with the other two adjacent edges of said sheet so that said sheet will extend beyond the other two edges of each block, said extended portions being supported on one side only over the entire extended area by the block on the other side of the said sheet except at the diagonally opposite corner areas of the extended portions.

KARL E. WEISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,780,107 Barry Oct. 28, 1930 1,815,921 Lapof July 28, 1931 2,175,671 Ryan Oct. 10, 1939 

